Tillage
Tillage is defined in farming as the disturbance of soil in preparation for a crop. Tillage is usually done to warm the seed bed up, to help dry the seed bed out, to break up disease, and to reduce early weed pressure. Tillage prior to planting adds cost per acre farmed and has not been shown to increase soybean yields significantly.
“No till” is the practice of planting seed directly into the ground without disturbing the soil prior to planting. This practice eliminates the tillage pass, saving the farmer the associated costs. Planting no-till places seed directly into a cooler and wetter seed bed, which can slow germination. This process is considered a good conservation practice because tilling disturbs the soil crust, causing erosion. The practice of no-till is currently on the rise among farmers in the midwestern United States.
Read more about this topic: Soybean Management Practices
Famous quotes containing the word tillage:
“Sweet smiling village, loveliest of the lawn,
Thy sports are fled and all thy charms withdrawn;
Amidst thy bowers the tyrant’s hand is seen,
And desolation saddens all thy green;
One only master grasps the whole domain,
And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain;”
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730?–1774)
“When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.”
—Daniel Webster (1782–1852)